By Dale Bryant
If the Los Gatos Dream Team is having nightmares about meeting the San Francisco 49ers June 1, it's not showing. The spunky home team says it's up to the challenge.
That may be because the team has the home-court advantage, and the 49ers are accustomed to playing with those bullet-shaped balls. They'll be out of their element on the Los Gatos High School basketball court. And they may be surprised to discover they're not supposed to run with the ball once they catch it.
Neither the Los Gatos Lions Club nor America's Best Karate, sponsors for the matchup, is promising an evening of poetry in motion, but a good time is expected to be had by all. And proceeds will benefit Los Gatos Lions Club charities, the 49er Foundation and Americans for a Drug-Free America.
The basketball game takes place at 7:30 p.m. and features Jan Hutchins at the microphone; the Los Gatos High School Band will perform, and raffle tickets will be sold for a variety of prizes, including 49er memorabilia.
The 49er team includes Dwight Clark, former wide receiver and current vice president and general manager of the team; Bryant Young, defensive lineman; Marquez Pope, defensive back who played all-star seasons with the Rams and Chargers; Drain Board, former 12-year veteran and current defensive line coach.
Also scheduled are defensive linemen Junior Bryant, considered one of the hottest new players in the country, and 6-foot-5-inch, 295-pound Herb Coleman.
The Los Gatos Dream Team features Mayor Randy Attaway; Jim Marino, LGHS basketball coach; Sean Daly, LGHS basketball team; Bob Best, director, Los Gatos- Saratoga Dept. of Community Education and Recreation; Roger Mason, attorney; John Shepardson, attorney; Jimmy Shannon, Santa Clara University student.
Also included are Johnny Mesa, local restaurateur; Sid Williams, Fisher Middle School basketball coach; Jerry Bellotti, CPA and former Santa Clara University basketball player; Derick Reichstein, Los Gatos Athletic Club and former LGHS basketball player; Kevin Walbschmidt, America's Best Karate and designated "hit" man for the Dream Teamers; and Jim Loard, Green Valley and a former college player.
Tickets are $10 and must be purchased in advance. They are available from any Lions Club member or from Los Gatos Camera, Mountain Mike's, all America's Best Karate schools, Fisher Middle School, Courtside, Los Gatos Athletic Club, the LGHS office and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Dept. of Community Education and Recreation.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, May 15, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved